Consumers Consider Cost and Brand of IoT Device Over Security When
Making Purchasing Decisions

TAIPEI, Taiwan — (BUSINESS WIRE) — August 4, 2015 —
ThroughTek,
leading Internet of Things (IoT) & market-leading Machine-to-Machine
(M2M) solutions provider, today announced findings from its â€śIoT Makersâ€™
Battle Reportâ€ť that highlights consumersâ€™ brand and device preferences
across IoT. The report found nearly half of consumers aware of IoT
devices on the market are most familiar with Appleâ€™s IoT devices (48%),
while surprisingly only 13 percent are most familiar with Googleâ€™s
connected devices. Rounding this ranking are Samsung (22%) and Amazon
(15%). Beyond familiarity, regarding purchase preference, one in four
consumers noting a top preference of an IoT brand most prefer Apple
(29%), whereas nearly one in five prefer Samsung (19%), 14 percent
Google and 10 percent Amazon. However, one in four consumers lack a
clear preference of any brandâ€™s IoT device.

Apple IoT products have not only effectively captured the attention of
Millennials who are plugged into the IoT space (47%), but have also
gained significant attention of those aged 35 - 54 (48%) and 55+ (48%).
Such Apple preference shows a variety of consumers could be more aware
of wearable devices like Apple Watch, rather than IoT devices used in
smart home applications like Amazon Echo and Google Nest.

To further delve into consumer attitudes, ThroughTek commissioned online
research firm
YouGov
to poll the attitudes of American consumers.

â€śAlthough Apple is the most recognized name, consumers lack a clear
understanding of IoT devices currently available and the benefits
provided by each,â€ť said Daniel Collins, Chief Data Officer, ThroughTek.
â€śThis leaves an opportunity for brands in the industry to focus on
consumer education in order to increase visibility and help gain insight
into user needs.â€ť

Additional key findings from the report include:

Cost is the number one concern for consumers when purchasing an IoT
deviceâ€” Almost one in three Americans identify cost as what their
top consideration would be when purchasing an IoT device (31%),
followed by ease of use (21%) and security (15%). As cost is a major
concern, coupled with lack of clear brand preference, this provides
strong consumer-reaching opportunities for lesser-known IoT players to
make an impact among tech giants like Apple and Amazon.

Consumers are extremely sensitive about data collection, but are
more comfortable sharing their usage and health dataâ€”Though
consumers consider cost and brand of IoT devices over security, they
are highly concerned with data collection.53 percent of
consumers would be uncomfortable with IoT service providers collecting
imaging data (e.g. personal photos and videos) and 38 percent with the
collection of their usage data. For health data, 49 percent would be
uncomfortable with the collection of data relating to their health and
wellness (e.g. weight and sleep quality). Conversely, 44 percent of
Millennials would be comfortable with their personal health data being
collected and 49 percent with their usage data (e.g. consumption of
food, water, electric, etc.) being collected. This contrasts with 35
percent of Millennials who would be uncomfortable with health data
collection and 21 percent who donâ€™t know. A further 28 percent are
uncomfortable with usage data collection. Nevertheless, the collection
of health and usage data presents value added to the IoT industry
beyond the smart home, including retail, health care and industrial
services industries.

Home security is the most popular purchase motivation â€“ Of
those who would like to spend money on an IoT service, one in three
consumers would elect to spend money on IoT devices that monitor home
safety; however, only 13 percent of consumers who are familiar with
IoT options are most familiar with Googleâ€™s IoT devices, which include
Googleâ€™s Nest Labs acquisition, DropCam, a security camera for the
home. Following home security, 25 percent of consumers would most like
to purchase an IoT devices that monitors health conditions and 21
percent are most interested in purchasing a connected device that
monitors home environment factors such as temperature.

â€śConsumers are clearly concerned with data collection from IoT
devices,â€ť said Collins. â€śTo address this, companies in the IoT have a
responsibility to ensure consumers are comfortable with the data
collected by their devices and that an appropriate level of anonymity is
maintained.â€ť

Research Methodology

ThroughTek
commissioned
YouGov
PLCâ€”a third party, professional research and consulting
organizationâ€”to poll the views of a representative sample of 1,157
adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between July 10-13, 2015. The figures
have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
The survey was carried out online.